Comparison

OS Maps vs GPS OS Grid Reference

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

OS Maps

Discover and plan outdoor adventures with detailed maps and GPS navigation. Track your hikes, runs, and bike rides, and stay safe with offline maps and community alerts. Explore new trails and relive your past activities.

Highlights
  • Detailed trail maps
  • GPS navigation
  • Offline map downloads
  • Activity tracking & history
  • Community alerts
  • 3D map views
  • Route planning
Features
Read full description

Explore the outdoors the way you want, all while staying safe with OS Maps. Whether you want to hike, bike or run, OS Maps will guide you through amazing trails across the USA. Want to find new places in your local neighborhood? Or plan that next thru-hiking adventure? From breathtaking National Parks to easy walks along the coast, experience the thrill of finding a brand new trail that you never even knew existed with OS Maps. Why you’ll love using OS Maps: EXPLORE NEW PLACES, CREATE NEW ADVENTURES Plan unlimited trails with detailed, up to date maps across the country & discover that next great trail! Whether you love to hike, bike or run, there are multiple map layers to suit any place, any activity. TRAILS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Search for the best trails in an area as rated by fellow outdoor enthusiasts or plot your own trail to follow, share & record. Use OS Maps as your go-to trail finder, fitness tracker & outdoor guide. VIEW & DOWNLOAD MAPS OFFLINE No cell reception? No problem. Download your favorite areas to save & view offline, so you can view your maps & chosen routes even without cell reception. Plus, you can export your favorite trails & routes to your GPX device. TRAIL MAPS TO SUIT ANY ACTIVITY Choose from multiple map layers, plan activities & find trails with detailed topographic mapping; or explore the landscape in stunning detail with aerial view. You can even see the world in 3D with 3D map layers. RECORD, REVIEW & RELIVE ACTIVITIES Use the activity tracking feature & activity history dashboard to track each & every adventure. Look back on past activities & review your stats. STAY SAFE ON THE TRAIL Stay the course with live GPS location tracking & never miss a turn with off-course alerts to keep you on track. Download trails, routes & maps & share with others, whether they’re joining you or want to make sure you stay safe. STAY INFORMED WITH COMMUNITY ALERTS Get real-time updates from other OS Maps users with Community Alerts. Whether it’s a trail closure or tricky terrain; you’ll stay in the know thanks to insights from the outdoor community. It’s like having thousands of trail buddies helping you plan smarter and stay safer. USE ON EVERY DEVICE Go from laptop to hilltop with ease! View, create & sync your routes & activities with a single account across multiple devices. Plan on desktop, follow & record your activities on mobile and Apple Watch. PLANNING MADE EASY Use OS Maps as your off-road GPS tracker with automatic ‘snap-to-path’ making route planning easy with the shortest distance between your waypoints plotted automatically. UNLIMITED PRINTING Print copies of trails & maps to take with you so you always have a backup to hand. USEFUL INFO $4.99 for monthly subscriptions & $28.99 for annual subscriptions. Battery life can be dramatically decreased by using GPS constantly. We release updates to all of our apps as we improve them, making them even more stable & adding extra features. Along the way, your feedback & comments about those apps are really important to us. If there’s an issue or something you’d like us to know, head to https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/contact-us OS Maps offers either auto-renewing monthly or annual subscriptions to provide you with premium access to OS Maps while you maintain an active subscription. If you choose to purchase a premium subscription, your payment will be processed by Apple. Subscriptions may be managed through the App Store App after purchase. Subscriptions on the App Store are renewed automatically unless you unsubscribe at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your Apple account will be charged for renewal no more than 24 hours before the end of the current period. You may cancel a subscription at any time before the end of the applicable billing period by going to your Subscriptions list within iOS settings. Terms & conditions: http://os.uk/termsosmaps Privacy policy: http://os.uk/privacy

About

GPS OS Grid Reference

This app accurately pinpoints your location on Ordnance Survey maps for Great Britain and Ireland, even without a phone signal. It offers precise grid references, waypoint creation, and navigation features. The display is designed for clarity in all lighting conditions, and it optimizes battery usage.

Highlights
  • Offline map location
  • Accurate grid references
  • Waypoint creation and management
  • High-contrast display
  • Battery optimization
  • Share waypoints
Features
Read full description

GPS OS provides a fast and accurate way to locate your position on an Ordnance Survey map, both in Great Britain and Ireland. • No phone signal required - works in the most remote locations. • OSTN15 transform data for high conversion accuracy (better than 1m). • 6, 8 and 10 figure grid references. • A large, clear, high contrast display ensures you can easily read your position in any light conditions. • Optimises the frequency of position updates depending on battery charge and speed of travel to make sure you can always make calls at the end of the day. • Create waypoints from a map, your current location or manually enter Ordnance Survey coordinates. • Explore waypoints and get directions in Apple Maps. • Share waypoints with other apps or users. • No adverts. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Includes OSTN15 transform data licensed with permission. Copyright and database rights Ordnance Survey Limited 2016, ©Crown copyright and database rights Land and Property Services 2016 and/or ©Ordnance Survey Ireland, 2016. All rights reserved.

Screenshots

OS Maps4 screens
GPS OS Grid Reference4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: GPS OS Grid Reference at 90% against OS Maps's 44%. GPS OS Grid Reference also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription). OS Maps's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (470 vs 17). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. OS Maps sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month and GPS OS Grid Reference sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $5.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

OS Maps holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: OS Maps has 470 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 44% of OS Maps's written reviews are positive against 90% of GPS OS Grid Reference's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OS Maps ships an update monthly, GPS OS Grid Reference every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
OS Maps versus GPS OS Grid Reference: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOS MapsGPS OS Grid Reference
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (470 ratings) — better4.4 (17 ratings)
Positive reviews44.2% of reviews89.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings470 — better17
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#190 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS16.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size347 MB13 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperOrdnance SurveyTomstrails.com

Customer experience

OS Maps

All ratings443 ratings
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.3%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews570 reviews
Positive44.2%
Neutral11.9%
Negative43.9%

GPS OS Grid Reference

All ratings17 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral5.9%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews99 reviews
Positive89.9%
Neutral1.0%
Negative9.1%

User reviews

OS Maps

From 470 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🗺️ Excellent OS mapping
  • 📍 Accurate GPS location tracking
  • 🛠️ Useful route planning tools
  • 🔋 Offline maps for battery life
  • 🌄 Detailed elevation profiles

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and bugs
  • ⏱️ Slow map loading and refreshing
  • 🔒 Subscription issues and login problems
  • 🗺️ Offline maps not always reliable
  • 🔍 Poor search and navigation functionality

GPS OS Grid Reference

From 17 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🎯 Accurate grid references
  • 🚀 Fast and quick updates
  • 💡 Works without phone signal
  • 🗺️ Useful for navigation and backup

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Blurry satellite maps
  • 🧭 Compass not accurate
  • 📉 Accuracy dropped recently
  • 🗺️ No map data included
  • 🚫 Cannot search locations

Bugs and requests

OS Maps

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Maps fail to load or disappear
  • Recorded activities not saving properly
  • Subscription not recognized on all devices
  • Elevation profiles not matching map data
  • Unexpected errors and crashes on launch

Requested features

5 requests
  • Apple Watch integration
  • Ability to edit and adjust routes
  • Better filtering and sorting of routes
  • Improved syncing between devices
  • Accessibility options for disabled users

GPS OS Grid Reference

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Waypoint finder satellite view is blurry
  • Compass is not accurate
  • Accuracy has dropped recently
  • Location services permanently dimmed off (iOS)
  • App does not work for users not in England

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add map data and search functionality
  • Improve satellite map clarity
  • Add ability to view location on a map
  • Enable navigation from point to point
  • Add Apple Watch equivalent app
Show 5 more
  • Display latitude and longitude
  • Add a dynamic display for accuracy improvement
  • Implement time averaging for accuracy
  • Allow copying grid reference to clipboard
  • Add facility to store and recall reference information

In-app purchases

2 purchases

OS Maps

Subscriptions2
  • 1 month$11.991 Month
  • 12 months14 Days trial$49.991 Year
1 purchases

GPS OS Grid Reference

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Features7 Days trial$5.991 Year

Questions

Is OS Maps free?
OS Maps is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is GPS OS Grid Reference free?
GPS OS Grid Reference is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, OS Maps or GPS OS Grid Reference?
OS Maps is rated higher. OS Maps averages 4.7 out of 5 from 470 ratings, while GPS OS Grid Reference averages 4.4 from 17 ratings.
Do OS Maps or GPS OS Grid Reference have ads?
Neither OS Maps nor GPS OS Grid Reference shows ads.
Which is updated more often, OS Maps or GPS OS Grid Reference?
OS Maps ships an update monthly, and GPS OS Grid Reference every 3 months. Most recently, OS Maps was updated on November 6, 2026 and GPS OS Grid Reference on November 6, 2026.

Other comparisons